With the 2026 Commonwealth Games having been concluded, following a hugely successful Games from a Weightlifting Wales perspective, attention now turned to building on this momentum and success. The performances achieved by the Welsh team in Glasgow, including Laura Hughes' bronze medal, as well as strong debut performances from several other athletes amongst the team provides an inspiration for all those across the nation.

The month of August saw many success stories and updates to share. 

Team Wales Home Coming Event

Weightlifting Wales joined athletes, families, supporters and the wider Welsh sporting community to celebrate Team Wales Glasgow 2026 success at a special Homecoming event hosted at the Welsh Parliament (Senedd Cyrmu) on the 7th August. For Weightlifting Wales, this event was a fitting way to bring the Commonwealth Games experience to a close, providing an opportunity to celebrate our athletes, recognise those who supported them and reflect on an incredibly proud chapter for Welsh weightlifting.

Behind our Welsh weightlifters is an extensive network of coaches, clubs, officials, support staff, families, friends, volunteers and partners. Their contribution is an essential part of every athlete's journey. It was fantastic to see athletes and support staff come together, share their experiences and celebrate the achievements of Team Wales.

Update of the Welsh Rankings and Welsh Lifting Records 

The latest changes introduced to the international weightlifting bodyweight categories at the start of August marked an important final update to the Welsh rankings and records within the previous bodyweights.

Check the updated rankings and records on the following pages here:

Welsh Rankings

Welsh Lifting Records

A huge congratulations to all athletes who set or maintained new lifting records, as well as improve on their place in the rankings. With a busy competition calendar ahead, there will be plenty of opportunities for athletes to make their mark on the updated rankings and records in the new bodyweight category changes.

Weightlifting Wales Job Vacancies

Weightlifting Wales has opened two exciting new opportunities in August as the governing body continues to develop its workforce and strengthen the services it delivers.

The opportunities offer individuals the chance to contribute to Welsh weightlifting in two very different but equally important areas - preserving the history of our sport and developing the next generation of coaches.

The first opportunity is for a Project Oral Historian / Heritage Officer, supporting Weightlifting Wales in documenting and preserving the history of Welsh weightlifting. The role will provide an opportunity to capture those stories and experiences, helping ensure that the history of Welsh weightlifting is not lost.

Secondly, we are advertising a Coach Education Delivery Partner position for someone suitably qualified and experienced to lead and grow the delivery of coach education courses across Wales. The successful candidate will have an important role in expanding access to coach education and helping develop the next generation of Olympic Weightlifting coaches.

Full details of both opportunities, including the role requirements and application information, are available on the Weightlifting Wales vacancies page.

View the Weightlifting Wales vacancies

Development Squad Training Camp

Weightlifting Wales Development Squad recently came together for a week long training camp across the 17th-21th August at the excellent facility of the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff, bringing together some of Wales’ most promising emerging athletes for a week of training, learning and development.

This latest camp provided an important opportunity for development athletes to step away from their normal club environments and train alongside fellow squad lifters, whilst gaining the opportunity to work closely with the national coaching team. Development squad camps are an important part of the process for an athlete's long-term progression, and a key part of the development pathway. This includes areas such as nutrition, recovery, injury prevention, performance preparation, anti-doping education, and wellbeing.

A key focus throughout the August camp was the quality of training, with some athletes able to lift beyond their competition personal bests. Amongst the achievements of personal bests, the different training sessions helped to reinforce positive technical habits amongst the squad and also help to identify specific areas for improvement on a 1-to-1 level.

Away from time spent on the platform, the development camp provided an opportunity for team building - with meal times spent together as well as out of training activities, which has helped build a strong squad culture.

Weightlifting Wales would like to congratulate all 13 athletes who attended the latest Development Squad camp and thank the coaches, staff and funding partners (National Lottery and Welsh government), who help make these opportunities possible.

While August has provided plenty of reasons to celebrate, these achievements are also part of a much bigger journey for Weightlifting Wales.

Our athletes continue to develop through the national and performance pathways, our clubs remain at the heart of participation and talent development, and our officials, coaches and volunteers continue to play a vital role in creating opportunities across Wales.

With the Home Nations Open (Autumn) competition weekend taking place in Bangor in September, alongside the Para Powerlifting Home Nations Open, and further competitions later in the year, there is already plenty to look forward to.

We want to thank everyone across the Weightlifting Wales community for their continued support and commitment to our sport.